There will be a special meeting (sponsored by CTM) at the Whole Earth Provision Co. campus store in Austin (2410 San Antonio St.) on Wednesday May 4th at 7pm to discuss the upcoming sale of Reimers Ranch to Travis County.

This will be an open forum question/answer session with Travis County Parks Division Director Charles Bergh.

Let's show Travis County what kind of support we can give them and have a great turnout at this meeting.

I'm really not sure what it means in terms of access. With my limited knowledge, access and bolting issues have been pretty much non-existant with the Reimer's. I see no reasons for Travis County to shut it down in light of this, especially given the climbing along the Greenbelt (although I believe this is handled by Austin Parks) and at Pace Bend. I've never known Travis County to shut down established climbing on county property, but my experience is limited to the past few years.

Hopefully, Mr. Bergh will have some good thigs to say next week. I'll try and make the meeting and report it here, but maybe others can in case I miss it.

If I remember correctly the Reimer's did close the area to the public for awhile in the mid 90's. I don't think it had so much to do with climbing per se as it did with people partying and trashing the place (I might be wrong about that).

What I find odd in the whole proposed sale is that the Reimer's have been making lots of money from the land in recent years with the addition of the bike trails, various outdoor challenge races, and the filming of the Alamo movie. Maybe they just got tired of dealing with it all...

I can imagine that they just got tired of dealing with it all, and are most certainly going to BANK on this deal (can you imagine what that property would be worth?). If I remember right they had already sold off an adjacent piece of land to the state many moons ago.

Travis County is planning to buy 500 acres of Reimers Ranch, a tract of private land near Hamilton Pool that's popular with hikers, rock climbers and mountain bikers.

The county would turn the land into a public park. Charles Bergh, the county's parks director, said plans call for keeping most of the property untouched.

"It'll be for rock climbing, fishing, mountain biking, picnicking, those types of activities," Bergh said. He added that although the county may build a few unlighted soccer fields, "we're going to keep things pretty much the way they are."

The news came as a relief to Scott Isgett, president of the Austin Rock Gym and an avid climber of the many rock faces at Reimers Ranch.

He called the plan "fantastic," especially in a state where 95 percent of the land is privately owned. Isgett is also a member of the Central Texas Mountaineers, a climbing organization that will meet with county officials on Wednesday to discuss the park.

"It's always a struggle in this state, more than most, to have land for activities" such as rock climbing, mountain biking and cross- country scrambles, Isgett said. "There are all sorts of liability issues that private owners usually don't want to mess with."

County officials have looked for years for land on which to put a Southwest Metro park. Voters approved $7.1 million in bonds for such a park in 2001, and at least part of the money would be used to buy the Reimers Ranch property. The county is also looking to purchase another 500-acre property near Hamilton Pool, but those plans are in their infancy.

The entire Reimers Ranch property is about 1,600 acres of wooded limestone hills, criss-crossed by trails and streams and little caves. The Reimers family has owned the land since the 1880s and has kept much of it open to the public.

It's valuable real estate. Developers are buying land around that area for housing subdivisions, such as nearby West Cypress Hills and the planned Sweetwater Ranch subdivision, which will have about 4,000 houses.

Milton Reimers, the ranch's owner, declined to comment on the sale. But Isgett, who said he's known Reimers for years, said developers have been making overtures for at least a decade. He said climbers had begun to wonder when, not if, someone would close off access to the cliffs.

"He's never been one to just go for the buck," Isgett said, adding that Reimers could have made a lot of money selling the land but opted instead to keep it open to the public and provide portable bathrooms.

From a few of the property's hilltops, visitors can catch glimpses of a re-created Alamo, built on the property of Eugene Reimers, Milton's cousin. Disney built the 53-acre set out of telephone poles, plaster and plywood for its $95 million production of "The Alamo," which starred Billy Bob Thornton.

Eugene Reimers sold Hamilton Pool to Travis County in 1985. It is now operated as a nature preserve.

The purchase of Reimers Ranch involves several steps. The Reimerses want to sell about 1,100 total acres, which county officials say is beyond their means. To facilitate the purchase, the county enlisted Land/Water/Sky, a private firm that buys land to help create parks and open spaces. The firm often helps organizations such as the Nature Conservancy buy land.

Michael Luigs, a broker with Land/Water/Sky, said he and the family have agreed on a price for the entire 1,100 acres. The closing is a few days away, he said.

The county plans to purchase the 500 acres from Luigs' company, probably in two phases, Bergh said. It will remain open while the county makes improvements such as possible road pavings and trail clearings, he said.

Land/Water/Sky will keep the remaining 600 acres. Luigs said at least part of that land will be developed as homes. But he emphasized that the overall purchase is being made to ensure a public park is created.

On a hot, muggy Friday, in the small parking lot maintained by the Reimers family, Luigs assured Isgett that the homes would not interfere with climbing. Isgett said in other areas homes have been built on cliffs, which led to residents persuading public officials to forbid climbing.

Most of the public park land in Texas is in the far eastern or western portions of the state. When Texas entered the Union, it kept the rights to its land, then sold most of it or granted it to railroad companies. The federal government purchased most of the national forest land in East Texas when landowners went bankrupt during the 1920s. In many Western states, more than half the land is publicly owned.

Hill Abell, president of the International Mountain Bicycling Association, said the purchase is a good first step. But the 500 acres have few bike paths on them, said Abell, who lives in Austin. Most of the Reimers Ranch bike trails are on land the family plans to keep or will be retained by Land/Water/Sky, he said.

In addition to the Reimers Ranch land, Luigs said, his company is eyeing about 500 neighboring acres, owned by the Hogge family. The county might in turn buy some or all of that property.

If that deal comes to fruition, the county would own almost four miles along the Pedernales River, Bergh said, skipping rocks across the river's blue-green surface from a fishing area on Reimers Ranch.

The sale of Reimers Ranch to Travis County would ensure recreational access to the land. However, if the Travis County Bond Advisory Board Members and the Travis County Commissioners don't hear from the community about how important we feel about continued recreation and access to this land, there is a very serious possibility that it would be developed for something other than a public park. We can't let that happen!

Please take the time to help in a letter writing campaign to the Travis County Bond Advisory Board Members and the Travis County Commissioners. Written letters are the most effective means of showing your support, especially when paired with a follow-up phone call. Outlined below are "talking points" which you can use to incorporate in your correspondence. Pick any that you agree with, but the most important part of your letter is the answer to the question "What does this land mean to you, personally, and/or to your family?"

What is said, written, typed, etc. to any of the advisory board members and precinct representatives will be construed as a direct reflection of the various user groups who will be utilizing Reimers as a county park. Please make sure that any correspondence will be perceived positively.

If you have less time to write your own letters, cut and paste any of the points below into an email. Every email helps and we are looking to get 1000 people to make some sort of contact with the committee members. A form letter is also available. The more communication the better, but please try to add at least one personal sentence if you can.

A list of names and contact information for Bond Advisory Board members and Travis Co. Commissioners is available below.

An example form letter can also be found below. If you use this, please try to personalize it in some way or include the talking points below.

The Travis County Commissioners will vote on the allocation of the money for the first acquisition 200 acres. After that, if approved, the Bond Citizens Advisory Committee will decide whether we can vote in November in the bond election for funding the purchase of an additional 300 acres. All of these decisions will be happening approximately before the week of June 27th. Please make your voice heard well in advance of that date since it is approximate.

There is only this one chance to save Reimers. The alternative is development for other things such as field facilities. You can put a baseball field anywhere at any time but you can not duplicate the beauty of Reimers Ranch or preserve it once it's been developed.

Thank you! We all need this park!

*** TALKING POINTS ***

* Historical Use

Reimers Ranch has been a recreational resource for Texans for hundreds of years, spanning generations.

(Please tell about your own personal and family experiences, and how long you have been visiting the Ranch)

Local climbing organizations and climbers from all over Texas have given, and would continue to voluntarily donate time and effort to maintain and improve the safety of rock climbing. Rock climbing events and competitions have raised money for local charities at Reimers for several years.

Reimers is also home to mountain bike trails developed by the community, and several races and charity events have taken place at the ranch, staffed and organized by volunteers.

* Climbing Destination

Reimers Ranch is one of the best places to rock climb in Central Texas. People come to Reimers from all over the state, the country, and even the world.

This climbing area is of such high quality that it is home to five local International World Cup-level competitors: Nick Douglas, Elizabeth Asher, Chris Locrasto, Lacey Howard, and Alice Braginsky.

* Environmental Preservation

Reimers Ranch has a thriving ecosystem unique to Central Texas. The lush springs, Pedernales River, and the flora and fauna should be preserved for generations to come as a Hill Country oasis.

* Personal Experiences

Each visitor to the Reimers Ranch has a unique personal experience, whether fishing, climbing, riding, birding, or just swimming and exploring. Many visitors have come to the Ranch most of their lives, and most visitors return as often as they can—why is that? Please tell the committee members why access to this area is important and relate your personal experiences.

* Personal Investment

Explain what you would be willing to do to support the Ranch as a Travis Co park. Indicate any support you would be willing to give to help the County maintain the land by volunteering for trash pickups, trail building, etc., and whether you would be willing to donate financially, or would urge any organization you belong to to donate financially for park infrastructure and maintenance.

Other Resources of Interest: http://www.co.travis.tx.us/citizens_bond_committee/pdfs/2005/2005_tent ative.pdf

*** EXAMPLE FORM LETTER ***

Date:

Commissioner Name Address

Dear ,

I am a frequent visitor to Reimers Ranch, and would like to continue recreating there in the future. I therefore support Travis County's immediate purchase of 200 acres of Reimers Ranch along the Pedernales River for a County Park. I also support a bond election in November to purchase an additional 300 acres at Reimers Ranch to add to the park.

Reimers Ranch has been a recreational resource for Texans for hundreds of years, spanning generations, and it is an important Central Texas destination for a variety of recreation, from fishing, mountain biking, rock climbing, hiking, picnicking, birding and swimming. People come to the Ranch because it has a thriving ecosystem unique to Central Texas. The lush springs, Pedernales River, and the flora and fauna should be preserved for generations to come as a Hill Country oasis.

I strongly urge you to please vote in favor of the County acquisition of Reimers Ranch now and future acquisition in the future. Thank you for your time and your consideration.